


Let Me Cure You

by RosalindHawkins



Series: "Let Me" [3]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Angst, Boyfriends, Brotherhood, Brotherly Affection, Brothers, Christmas, Christmas Eve, December - Freeform, Dogs, Family Fluff, Fluff, Hospitalization, Influenza, Kittens, M/M, Male Homosexuality, Past Child Abuse, Pets, Romance, Secrets, Slow Dancing, Smut, Snow, Winter, puppyshipping - Freeform, spider - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-27
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-07-27 02:55:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7600708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosalindHawkins/pseuds/RosalindHawkins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>DISCLAIMER: The Emerald Emperor spider is a fictional spider species that I made up because I couldn't find a real spider species that I found satisfactory for the purpose of this story. They are not real.</p>
        </blockquote>





	1. Caffeine

Thick clumps of snow fell steadily from the sky, blanketing the world in a white shroud that muffled all color and sound. Not just that, but it obscured all semblance of corruption and filth. Snow made it so much easier to pretend that the world was clean and pure. It also made the weather much colder, and cold weather made people more likely to stay indoors and celebrate the holidays with the people they cared about.

It was precisely this impulse that had prompted Joey to make cookies with Mokuba from scratch. That is, once he'd been shown how the industrial kitchen functioned. The warm, comforting scent of home-made chocolate chip cookies filled the air as Joey opened the oven and removed the cookie trays, Mokuba perched on a stool as he tried not to bounce with excitement.

"Can we eat them now?" Mokuba asked impatiently as Joey placed the last cookie tray on the counter and turned off the oven.

"Not just yet!" Joey proclaimed, wagging a finger at the child. He picked up a metal spatula and used it to remove two cookies from the tray and place them on a plate.

"How long do we have to wait?" Mokuba asked, his eyes glued on the cookies.

"One minute after they come out of the oven," he replied promptly. "Otherwise, you'll burn your mouth so badly you won't be able to taste the cookies at all." Joey looked at his watch for a moment to check how long had transpired since they pulled them out. "Okay, we can eat them now." Mokuba snatched his cookie off the plate eagerly, Joey taking his own portion with almost equal fervor.

"Mm, these are good," Mokuba mumbled around a mouthful of baked dough and melted chocolate.

"I hope that means you're willing to share them," Kaiba interjected as he entered the kitchen, his eyes glancing around as he re-familiarized himself with this particular room.

"Of course!" Mokuba exclaimed with such eagerness that Joey chuckled at him in amusement.

It was always heart-warming to watch the two brothers together, especially after their crisis that summer. Joey quickly pushed that memory away, not wanting to spoil these moments with such unpleasant recollections. He laughed hard as he watched Mokuba shove one of their creations into his older brother's mouth, Seto's eyes widening as his mouth was suddenly crammed full with cookie.

"Don't they smell great?" Mokuba asked, his eyes shining with delight. He'd never made cookies before, so he'd never really known what it was like for a whole room to smell like freshly baked cookies.

"They sure do," Kaiba replied once he was able to. Joey couldn't help but look at him with pity, knowing that he'd just had to lie to Mokuba. Seto had almost no sense of smell, and even though the smell of cookies was strong in this room, he likely didn't perceive it much at all.

"Did you finish your session with Sweets, or are you just taking a break?" Joey asked, raising an eyebrow at his boyfriend as he rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"I'm done for tonight," he answered before finishing off what little remained of his cookie. "I hate psychologists," he grumbled.

"I think you should be honored that he wants to study you," Joey replied with a smirk. "Only truly _exceptional_ specimens get to be studied, you know."

Seto huffed and rolled his eyes at Joey's purposeful use of polysyllabic words. Joey knew that the brunette didn't really hold anything against the American psychologist. In truth, Kaiba found the psychologist to be quite amusing sometimes. What he _didn't_ like was when Dr. Sweets tried to dig too deeply or undo Seto's way of perceiving himself and the world. That was where Seto would draw the line, say that it was turning into a therapy session, and end the Skype call—much to Sweets' annoyance.

"Hey, you already ate a cookie, no more," he rebuked his little brother as he tried to sneak a second cookie off of the pan. "Did you finish all of your homework?"

"Yep, it's all done!" Mokuba said cheerfully. Tomorrow was the last day of school before winter break, and he was excited for the vacation, just as any middle schooler would be.

"And you're ready for your presentation tomorrow?" Kaiba asked, the mundane conversation passing easily between them as Joey in his kelly green sweater put his hand in Seto's and lay his head on the taller one's shoulder.

"Yeah, Joey helped me practice it earlier," Mokuba answered, eying the cookies as he wondered if he dare try again to steal a second cookie.

"What class is that for?" Kaiba asked, looking down at Joey for an answer.

"It's for biology class," Joey reminded him patiently. "He's doing a presentation on venomous animals."

"I get to talk about snakes and spiders and jellyfish," Mokuba enthused with a grin. Seto was glad that at least his little brother seemed to at least be a fairly normal middle schooler. As much as he believed that Mokuba did and would have an above average intelligence—not unlike himself—he didn't want Mokuba to experience any more abnormalities than were strictly necessary—so as _not_ to turn out like his older brother.

"Cool." Seto turned back to Joey, giving his hand a squeeze before releasing it. "I have some more work that I need to get done tonight, so can you please help him practice his presentation one more time before he goes to be—Hey!" Seto cut himself off as a pair of small hands slipped around from his back to his stomach and tickled him ineffectively. "Cut that out."

Mokuba sighed dramatically as he gave up and squeezed in between them. "I bet you're ticklish _somewhere_ ," he said, looking up at his brother with a look of determination, making Kaiba chuckle.

"Nope, not a chance," he said with a grin, eliciting more pity from Joey. He could remember the tickle fights he and Serenity had gotten into when they were little, back before their parents got divorced.

"But _Joey's_ ticklish!" Mokuba protested with a pout.

"That's because Joey's Joey and I'm me," Seto said with a slight smirk. "I'm going back to my office now. I might not see you till tomorrow, so goodnight, kiddo." He ruffled his brother's hair as he glanced up at Joey.

"I'll get 'im to bed, don't worry." Joey grinned at him and Kaiba nodded with a smile before leaving again.

* * *

After helping Mokuba practice his presentation one last time and putting him to bed, Joey went to pull Seto away from his work. He understood that the holiday season was especially busy for him and that he was trying to get enough work done now so that he could take Christmas off without leaving anything unfinished or unattended, but he wasn't going to let Kaiba deprive himself of sleep.

"Aren't you done yet?" Joey asked as he entered Seto's home office and strolled over to the desk chair where his lover sat, his face illuminated by the glow from his computer screen.

"I'm almost done," Kaiba muttered without looking up. Joey rolled his eyes, knowing that Kaiba probably wasn't very well aware of the time right now. When he got really into his work, he lost all sense of place and time and was sucked entirely into his task until something drew him out of it. This time, it was Joey taking the liberty of seating himself sideways across Kaiba's lap that made him snap out of it.

"What are you doing?" the brunette asked with a faint blush. Joey pointed up and Kaiba looked in that direction, rolling his eyes at what he saw. "You know what they say about mistletoe, Seto," Joey chimed smugly before pulling his boyfriend into a heated, hungry kiss.

"Alright, you win," Seto muttered as Joey pulled away, looking terribly pleased with himself. Seto saved his progress and closed his laptop, holding hands with Joey as they walked back to their bedroom. They started to undress, Joey removing the warm sweater Seto had gotten for him.

In fact, Seto had furnished Joey with a new wardrobe when he'd come to live with him back in the spring, but when the fall months came around, he'd paid for warm winter clothes to be acquired for him as well. Joey had a sneaking suspicion that Seto'd had a hand in choosing the clothes that had been purchased for Joey, because their was a distinctive Joey flair to the clothing that seemed to imply that the one purchasing them knew something of the person the clothes would be given to.

Seto removed his tie and suit jacket before sitting on the edge of the bed and rubbing the back of his neck tiredly. Joey actually thought that the way Seto's eyelids drooped was rather adorable.

"I knew you were tired. It's not everyday that you wake up at 3:45 for a conference call, after all," Joey commented as he removed his own belt and put it away.

"I could have kept working," Kaiba defended in a drowsy voice as he rested his eyes for a moment. It was only when he felt Joey taking his hand that he opened his eyes and glanced up in time to see the blond start to press soft kisses to the tiny lacerations that marked both of his hands. His lack of sensitivity to touch meant that he tended to get papercuts without realizing it. It was very frustrating when blood from those cuts got smudged on his documents and he had to print new copies.

A look of gentle appreciation came over Seto's face, and Joey found it rather gratifying. He hummed against the other's skin as he covered his hands in little kisses. He reached the base of his palm and started unbuttoning his shirt cuffs. He pushed back the crisp white shirtsleeve and started kissing the white scars lining the inside of Seto's wrist, sucking lightly at the healed skin. He kissed the inside of his arm as far as he could go, but the sleeve stopped him around Kaiba's elbow.

Still holding Seto's extended arm, he side-stepped and lifted one knee to rest it on the edge of the bed, pressing it between Seto's thighs and making his partner growl softly. Joey quickly unbuttoned Seto's shirt with one hand while Kaiba's other hand rested low on Joey's back to balance him. That well-muscled chest was now open to him, and Joey leaned forward to nibble on Seto's collarbone. After a few moments of that, he finally freed his lover of his shirt, pushing it off the bed and to the floor so that it wouldn't be in the way. Before he could lay another hand on the brunette, though, Seto was tugging the hem of Joey's shirt up.

The blond helped him remove the article of clothing that impeded their intimacy before catching Seto's hand in his own once more and resuming his work. He nipped the inside of his elbow, then continued sucking and licking a slow trail down his arm to his shoulder. Kaiba pressed his face into Joey's chest, moaning softly as his fingernails lightly dragged across the others back, making the blond shiver with anticipation.

When they had first slept together, Joey had told Seto that he wasn't a gentle lover, and Seto had expressed his approval. _"You'd be useless to me if you were."_ After their several forays into the Virtual World, though, Seto had finally expressed his concerns to Joey: he feared that if he kept going back to the digital reality where he could experience physical sensations like a normal person, his frustration with his deadened nerves would increase and he'd become even more desensitized than he already was. That was when they'd agreed it would be better for him to stop going there altogether. Joey had also proposed that they try being gentler in their lovemaking every now and then, to give him a chance to focus on what he _could_ feel and try to increase his sensitivity through sheer willpower. Seto didn't know if he thought it was working, but one thing he did know was that Joey's tender attentions always drove him mad with need.

The blond nibbled at his neck as Seto tried not to whine with sheer desire. He wanted to touch the other, feel his muscles move under his skin and watch his need for the brunette grow until he begged to be filled. Once Joey was close enough, Kaiba leaned forward and bit hard on his lover's nipple out of retaliation. Joey hissed. Seto smirked.

"When you tease a dragon, you're going to get burned," Seto murmured against Joey's chest, much to his lover's amusement. Despite his best intentions, Joey relinquished control to Kaiba. Once the stubborn brunette had made up his mind that he wanted something, there was no denying him. Joey had once been that stubborn too, but in the time that he'd spent with Kaiba, he'd matured a lot, and part of that process was learning that sometimes stubbornness could be a very bad thing.

Joey'd intended for tonight to be gentler, but in truth, neither of them truly favored things that way, as maddeningly sweet as they could be. They made love with that same restless hunger they'd had their first night, Seto pounding Joey into the mattress with the same demanding force he always used. Much to Kaiba's satisfaction, Joey moaned and screamed in ecstasy. While Kaiba enjoyed hearing his lover's pleasure, Joey enjoyed the post-coital pillow-talk just as much.

"I love you, Puppy," Seto purred as he nibbled on Joey's ear, one hand stroking the blond's side as he lay behind him, their long figures curled together under the sheets.

"I love you too, Dragon Lord," Joey teased. Seto bit harder on his ear for a moment before he licked the mark to sooth the pain. "So, have you given anymore thought to my request?" he asked hopefully.

"Not gonna happen," Seto growled, trying to sound firm on the matter, but it was hard to do so when he was this happy and tired.

"But _I_ dressed up for _you!_ " Joey whined.

"That's different," the brunette declared, wishing he would just drop the matter.

"How?"

"I didn't _ask_ you to do that."

"But you sure did enjoy it," Joey pointed out with a mischievous grin his partner couldn't see.

"It was silly," Kaiba muttered, still feeling embarrassed about how much he'd enjoyed that night.

"It was Halloween," Joey answered, as if that justified everything. "I was feeling festive. Besides, costumes are fun."

"You costume had no clothes, just ears and a tail." And a collar and leash, but he didn't like to think about that. The red dog collar had a shiny little tag that read "Property of Seto Kaiba." It had been large enough that it rattled around Joey's neck instead of being tight enough to cause chaffing. Kaiba had removed it early on in the foreplay, though, saying that he preferred _wild_ dogs.

"Accessories still count as a costume, which is most of what you'd be wearing anyways." Joey was still trying to wheedle Seto's sex-addled mind into granting the blond's request, but he didn't seem to be making any headway.

"Go to sleep, Pup," he grumbled into Joey's hair, effectively ending the debate. For now.


	2. Nicotine

Two days later, Seto frowned down at his little brother as they waited for the thermometer to tell them Mokuba's temperature.

"This is why I told you that you should get a flu shot, Mokuba," Kaiba chided with a disapproving shake of his head.

"Why didn't you just _make_ him get one?" Joey asked curiously.

"Because last year, he managed to turn the syringe around and stick the nurse with it," the brunette answered with an eye-roll. Joey chuckled at that. "It's impossible to _make_ him get a vaccine if he doesn't want it, so this year I let him make the decision himself. Now he sees what the consequences are, so maybe next year, he'll listen to me."

Mokuba looked both sheepish and indignant as the thermometer in his mouth started beeping. Seto took it out and looked at the digital display with a frown.

"He definitely has a fever. Guess that means you can't go outside and play in the snow until you get better."

"But I don't _feel_ that sick," Mokuba whined, not wanting to be confined to his room while there were snowball fights to be had and snow forts to be built.

"It doesn't matter if you _feel_ sick; what matters is that you _are_ sick, and the only way for you to get better is to rest and take your medicine," Kaiba said firmly.

"How come _I_ had to get a flu-shot if _he_ didn't?" Joey asked suddenly, raising an eyebrow at the brunette. His boyfriend had him get a flu vaccine in early November, and while Joey thought it unnecessary, he'd gotten one anyways. Kaiba was right: illness spread quickly in schools, and while Joey was still in high school, he was at risk for contracting influenza.

"Because you're not afraid of needles like he is," Seto answered, kissing Joey's forehead as the blond seemed to be appeased by that answer. "Besides, I want you to stay healthy."

"How come _you_ never get a flu-shot, though?" Mokuba complained, feeling like being expected to get a flu-shot was the same as being subjected to some kind of injustice.

"Because I don't get sick," Seto replied smugly.

"What about that time you were twelve and _you_ got the flu?"

Joey saw Seto shut down in that moment. A mask of stone transfixed his features as he responded tensely, "That wasn't the flu."

"Then what—"

"You need to rest, Mokuba." His interruption was sharp, sharper than he'd intended. "Go to sleep now, okay?" His little brother nodded meekly, and Kaiba left the room, his long legs carrying him quickly away. Joey said a kind goodbye to Mokuba and followed the brunette as fast as he could. He had to run to catch up to him.

"Hey, are you alright?" Joey called as he caught up to the brunette. Seto didn't turn around, didn't slow down, didn't speak for a few moments.

"No."

Joey had demanded that the little white lies—"I'm fine" and things like that—stop, so Seto had been making a concerted effort lately to comply with that request, but it could be very difficult at times—like when Seto was buying Joey's Christmas present and the blond had interrupted him.

"Then something's wrong."

"Yes, and I don't want to talk about it."

"You were sick when you were twelve. Mokuba was right about that part, yes?"

"Yes."

"But it wasn't the flu?"

Seto's jaw clenched as he stiffly answered, "No, it wasn't the flu."

"Then what was it?"

"I'm not talking about this."

"Okay, you don't have to," Joey said calmly, easing up on him at last. Kaiba slowed a little and came to a stop outside his bedroom door.

"Give me the key," Seto demanded suddenly, turning to Joey with an outstretched hand.

Joey hesitated before pulling at the thin chain around his neck and pulling it off over his head, dropping the small key into the brunette's palm. Kaiba entered their room and went straight to his closet, Joey following him inside and standing by the bed as he waited for Kaiba to reemerge. Joey followed Seto out onto the balcony as he lit his cigarette, standing close to his lover's side as he took a deep drag and let out a sigh of smoke. He shivered as the freezing temperatures penetrated his warm sweater.

"You don't have to be out here with me, you know."

"I know." Joey slipped an arm around Seto's waist and nuzzled closer against him. "But I want to be."

They stood in silence for a little while longer, both of them cold, but Joey wasn't willing to leave Seto, and Seto wasn't willing to smoke inside the house. In a moment of inattention, he choked on the smoke.

"Have you considered switching to nicotine patches? Or gum?" Joey asked, knowing for a fact that Seto hated the actual smoke involved in smoking.

"Those aren't unpleasant enough," he muttered.

"Why does _that_ matter?" It didn't make any sense to Joey.

"If I don't punish myself, who will?"

Joey looked up at him, his coffee-colored eyes growing big and sad. "Haven't you been punished enough in your life already?"

Seto put an arm around Joey and hugged him close. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Nobody else would say that to me. Only you."

Joey reached one cold hand up to Seto's soft brown hair and pulled him down into a warm, ashy kiss.

"Can we go inside, now?"

"Sure."

Once inside, feeling began to return to Joey's fingers and toes. He leaned against the wall, flexing his hands as he watched Seto put away the lockbox that held his cigarettes and lighter. He handed the key back to Joey, who tucked it back under his shirt as he watched the other with thoughtful eyes. Kaiba noticed his pensive expression and decided to tease him into a better mood.

"You're not thinking again, are you? I told you that was dangerous." It was a half-hearted attempt at a joke, but Joey wasn't amused.

"I'm never really gonna know everything about you, will I?" he asked softly. Seto paused where he stood, then sighed, his eyelids shielding those luminous blue eyes from Joey's gaze. Kaiba approached Joey, taking his lover's hands in his own as he bent forward to press their foreheads together. He didn't have a verbal answer for him.

"Every time I think I know you, there's another layer, another level even deeper down, that I don't know about. I'm fighting for you, Seto," he whispered, starting to get choked up as he lifted a hand to Seto's cheek. "We're on the same side, you know." Seto pressed his cheek into Joey's hand, trying to find a response.

"I'm trying," was all he could say, the words sounding pained as if they'd been torn from him by force.

"I know you are." Joey pecked Seto's lips, not caring that he smelled like his cigarettes, because to Joey, that smelled like home. "That's all I ask of you."


	3. Venom

The next day, Mokuba was still sick, of course. Seto was still working, but he took a break every few hours to check on his brother personally. There were staff to take care of him, but Mokuba didn't light up for them the way he did for his big brother.

"Hey kid, how are you feeling?" he asked as he sat down on the edge of his brother's bed, his body turned to face the dark-haired child.

"Hot," Mokuba answered with an annoyed huff. "But Joey said he was going to make me an ice cream sandwich using the cookies we made."

"Those were good cookies."

"Yeah, they were. I didn't know that Joey knew how to cook."

"You're taking your medicine, right?"

"Yes, Seto." Mokuba grinned at his brother in amusement. "In the past three hours since you last visited, I've continued taking my medicine." It was obvious that Seto was hovering, but Mokuba appreciated it. Seto used to be quite distant, and this was a nice change. Seto pressed his cool palm to his brother's burning forehead and frowned, even as Mokuba found the touch comforting enough to close his eyes and sigh a little.

"Just focus on getting better, okay?"

"I will. And you'll focus on your work so that you don't have to work on Christmas, right?"

"Yeah." Kaiba smiled at his brother before leaning forward to give him a peck on the cheek. Mokuba smiled contentedly at his brother as the elder stood, trying not to be awkward. "Try to get some rest, okay?"

* * *

"Hello? Dr. Sweets?"

"Hello, Joey. How are you?"

"Um, I'm doing well, thanks." Joey shifted his cellphone to his other ear. "Is there something I can help you with?" He had given his number to Sweets in case he ever needed to ask Joey about something concerning Seto, and they'd spoken on the phone a couple of times before, but it had been a while since Sweets had last thought that he needed Joey's input.

"Yes, and it's somewhat serious." Sweets' tone made Joey start to feel nervous. "Seto's talked to you about his… condition, I take it?"

"You mean the tactile thing?"

"Tactile hyposensitivity, yes. Do you know how he received that diagnosis?"

"No, he didn't. Why do you ask?" Joey was on his guard, wondering if he should be suspicious or worried.

"Because something's… askew with the information he's told me."

"What do you mean? You think he's fakin' it or somethin'?" Joey asked defensively, ready to argue with the shrink on Kaiba's behalf.

"No, not at all. He has nothing to gain from faking a condition like that. I mean that his own understanding of his state does not line up with known cases. For one thing, 'tactile hyposensitivity' describes a symptom, not the condition itself. The condition he's most likely describing is Sensory Processing Disorder. For another, there are sensory integration therapy methods that would have been able to help him when he was a child. It's especially obvious in children. It would have been easily caught and treated. Even if his step-father was abusive, I doubt he would have wanted his heir to display signs of a disorder. Appearances and reputation were very important to Gozaburo Kaiba, and if Seto hadn't gotten his disorder under control on his own, it would have been somewhat apparent that there was something wrong with him."

"What are you saying?" Joey put down the ice cream sandwich he'd been making for Mokuba, feeling unsettled. What did all of this mean?

"At best, he diagnosed himself, he does have SPD, and he can still receive SI therapy that would help him. At worst…" Sweets hesitated, making Joey impatient.

"At worst, what?" Joey demanded. "You can't just say somethin' like that and not finish."

"At worst, it's a self-diagnosis that he engineered to cover up something that, at the time, he simply couldn't handle. This kind of denial and self-deception would be consistent with his thought patterns from what I know of him. It might have happened when he was at the orphanage or after his step-father died, but based on developmental stages and factoring in his advanced mental processing skills, it most likely occurred while he was living with his step-father."

" _What_ occurred?" Joey wasn't sure that he was understanding Sweets properly.

"Just—ask him how he discovered his disorder, and don't let him give you any ambiguous answers. I tried asking him myself during our last session, but he closed the laptop on me. Again."

"Okay, I'll do that," Joey promised uncertainly. He wasn't sure he wanted to do this, but if Sweets thought it was important, then he trusted him. "I'll let you know what he says."

"Thank you, Joey."

They said their goodbyes and Joey hung up, feeling very unsettled indeed. He didn't want to stir up any unpleasantness between him and Seto right now, not when he was working hard and worried about Mokuba. It was funny, actually: even though Kaiba was a confident person, and he knew intellectually that his brother would get better, he couldn't help but worry about him. This puzzled Seto, but it made perfect sense to Joey. He worried because he loved his brother, and love was an illogical thing.

Joey left the kitchen with Mokuba's ice cream sandwich on a plate, wondering how he would broach the subject to Seto. When he reached Mokuba's room, Seto was there, looking like he was just on his way out. He didn't leave, though, until Joey had delivered the frozen treat and could leave with him. Once in the hallway, Joey was surprised by a sudden bear-hug from Seto. His embrace was warm and reassuring, and Joey closed his eyes as he pressed his face into Seto's chest.

"Want to know a secret?" Seto whispered, his hot breath tickling Joey's ear. The blond nodded, his arms tight around Seto's torso. "I like hugs."

Joey chuckled, amused and touched. Was this Seto's way of trying to make Joey feel better after what had happened last night? Whether he intended it that way or not, it worked.

"You give good hugs," Joey murmured, not wanting to let go. Despite the brunette's only troubles, he was Joey's rock, his foundation. He'd become the constant in his life whose sheer presence gave him courage and confidence in his happiness. No matter what else happened, everything would be alright. They would still have each other, and even if they lost their families, they would survive because of each other. It would be a struggle, but they'd survive.

By the time Seto's hold on him loosened, Joey had lost track of how long he'd been holding Seto like that. He reluctantly released him and took the brunette's hand in his own, interlocking their fingers as he smiled up at his lover. Seto's cheeks were slightly pink, although he couldn't tell if it was from heat or bashfulness.

"How are you doing?" Joey asked as Seto started to lead them back to his office.

"Things are going well," he answered. "There's nothing very interesting about the work I'm doing right now, otherwise I'd tell you about it."

"Fair enough," Joey said with a shrug. He cleared his throat, deciding that he might as well try to fulfill Sweets' request now. There was no time like the present, right? "Seto, when did you find out about your, uh, tactile thing?"

"Tactile hyposensitivity," Seto corrected smoothly. Joey watched the other's face carefully, relieved that he didn't seem uncomfortable or angry about discussing this. "When I was a kid. Why do you ask?"

"How old were you specifically?"

"Maybe twelve." Seto glanced at Joey curiously. _Why the sudden interest?_ he wondered.

"Who diagnosed you?"

"I figured it out myself."

"But _how_ did you figure it out?" Joey persisted.

"What makes you ask this all of a sudden?" Seto asked suspiciously, coming to a halt so that he could turn to look at Joey.

"No reason," the blond answered, trying to sound innocent, but failing.

"Did Sweets put you up to this?" Seto asked perceptively.

"Well…" He didn't want to lie to Seto, even if it meant letting the cat out of the bag.

"There's nothing he won't do, is there?" Seto rolled his eyes, both exasperated and amused by the psychologist. "If I agree to answer his questions next time we talk, will you drop the subject?"

"Why do you want to drop the subject?" Joey grinned crookedly as he continued to pester Seto with questions.

"Because I'd rather discuss something more pleasant right now." Seto cleared his throat before continuing. "I wanted to ask for your… opinion on Christmas. Mokuba and I have had a few Christmases on our own now, but we didn't really have any with Gozaburo, so I feel like it's not quite what it ought to be."

"What do you mean? It's kind of hard to do Christmas wrong, so I doubt you could have messed it up that bad."

"It's not that I think I've messed it up," Seto retorted, Joey's eyes darting away as he skimmed the overhead light fixtures for anymore mistletoe. "I just think we haven't yet gotten it to the point where it's everything it's cracked up to be. I want to make it special for Mokuba. You only get to be a kid once and—ow!" Joey felt Seto jerk to a stop, and he turned to see what was wrong. He'd never heard Seto say "ow" before, so he was understandably curious. The usual things that would make a person say "ow"—papercuts, pinches, and stubbed toes—were nothing to him.

He turned in time to see Kaiba whacking a large, colorful spider off of his right hand, the one that wasn't holding Joey's. Seto squashed the spider under his heel and looked up at Joey, whose face had gone pale.

"What's wrong? You're not scared of spiders, are you?" Seto teased, trying to put a smile back on Joey's face.

"Seto, that was a venomous spider. That thing could _kill_ you."

"How do you—"

"I recognize it from Mokuba's presentation."

They stared at each other in shock and fear for a few moments before Joey finally took action, seizing Seto's hand firmly and taking off at a run, dragging him along towards the medical room of his mansion, the room where he kept a nurse and doctor on call at all times.

* * *


	4. Anesthesia

"Calm down, Joey," Seto ordered, holding Joey's face in both of his hands as wide brown eyes stared up at him in terror.

Sirens wailed as the ambulance rushed to the Kaiba mansion to take Seto to the hospital, because they simply didn't have the antivenom he needed here at the mansion, and it was too risky not to go.

"I am going to be fine," he said calmly, even as he felt his skin burn and itch. "You're not going to tell Mokuba what happened. Tell him that something came up at the office and I had to go in to fix things. Don't worry about me, don't let _him_ worry about me. I'll call you with an update when I can, but you'll stay here with him."

"I want to go with you!"

"You can't do that."

"But Seto—" Joey couldn't stand that Seto was making him stay behind. Tears slid down his cheeks as the ambulance got louder, closer.

"Joey, I need you to be strong for Mokuba and I need you to tell Roland to figure out where the spider came from and make sure there aren't anymore. The last thing I need is for someone else to get hurt."

"What if you don't come back?" Joey whispered, his eyes wide with horror at the prospect.

"Joey, I've been catatonic, abused, abducted, bound, exploited, arrested, sued, and assaulted. I've had my soul trapped once in a trading card and twice in the Virtual World. I've survived a lot. I'll survive this too."

He kissed Joey's forehead one last time before he let himself be dragged away by the paramedics. Joey wiped at his cheek, trying not to cry as he and Seto exchanged a final glance before the back doors of the ambulance slammed shut and drove him away.

Several of the staff members were standing behind Joey on the salted sidewalk, watching with him as the ambulance drove away, eventually out of sight. When he turned around to go back inside the house, Roland was just arriving, bidding the servants to get back to work.

"I've been informed of the situation," he told Joey, looking as calm and unflappable as ever. "Did Mr. Kaiba leave any instructions for me to carry out in his absence?" He knew Seto well enough to know that he probably did.

"Uh, yeah." Joey rubbed at his red eyes, barely self-conscious about his tears. "He wants you to figure out how the spider got in and get rid of any others that might be around," Joey answered, still wiping the moisture from his face as he tried to calm himself.

"Can you show me where he was bitten?"

"Yeah, follow me."

Joey traced his steps along the route they'd taken to get Seto to his nurses. He stopped when they came to the brightly-colored, half-smushed spider on the floor.

"I recognized it as the Emerald Emperor spider," Joey said somewhat quietly, his insides trembling as he fretted for the stubborn brunette he loved so deeply. "It's only found on Madagascar, so I have no idea how it ended up here." He lifted his gaze from the spider to Roland, and saw that Seto's right-hand man was staring at a door about a dozen feet away. "What's that?" he asked, wanting something to distract him from his nerves.

"That," Roland answered slowly as he approached the door and pulled a keychain out of his pocket. "Is the room where the late Mr. Kaiba would school his step-son." A chill went down Joey's spine. "It's been sealed since he passed away, and the current Mr. Kaiba is not in the habit of owning deadly exotic species of anything." He slid a key into the lock of the door, turning it carefully, cautious in case the locking mechanism had rusted into place over the years. "Gozaburo Kaiba, however, was fascinated with the specimens. I know for a fact that he owned at least a few, but we never did find them after he passed."

"Wait!" Joey held his breath as Roland turned to look back at him.

"Is something wrong?"

"If that," Joey pointed to the spider, "Made it out of there, then maybe we should have someone in a hazmat suit go in there. Just in case. We don't know what we're dealing with."

"Fair point. I should have realized that myself." Roland locked the door again and put the keys back in his pocket. "I'll have someone properly dispose of this one and call professionals to examine the room and assess the possible threat."

Roland started to walk away, but Joey followed along with him, much to his own surprise. "How do you know that much about Gozaburo?"

"I once worked for him, though not in the same capacity as I now serve Master Kaiba."

"What was your job for him, then?"

"I was a security analyst, part of his personal security detail." A pause. "Gozaburo required a personal security detail more so than Seto-sama does. He was far less liked, and I think he realized that it increased his chances of being attacked in some way. I worked for him both here and at the KaibaCorp Headquarters, which is partly why I'm so familiar with the ins and outs of both locations."

It was the first time Joey heard Roland call him Seto-sama. "Then you knew what was happening to him, what Gozaburo did."

"Yes, I knew, and I wasn't the only one." They started descending a set of stairs, Joey keeping pace with Roland. "Then how come you never stopped him?"

Roland came to a standstill on the landing, turning to face the upset teenager with a small sigh.

Joey had never stopped to consider this before, but Roland's words had triggered a realization that induced Joey's line of inquiry. He looked up at Roland with an expression of anger and defiance, but Roland remained unfazed.

"I knew Seto-sama when he was a child, and I've watched him grow up. It's true that I did nothing to stop his abuse, but the situation was complicated."

"That's not a good reason to—"

"Hear me out," Roland interrupted calmly, lifting a hand to stop the blond from blurting out the first things that came to his mind. "The only staff-member who ever confronted Kaiba-sama about his treatment of his step-son was deported and never heard from again. The rest of us who shared his sympathies realized that there was nothing we could do that would stop what was happening. We always did the best we could, though, to make things easier for them." He was speaking of Mokuba now too. "If we tried to contradict him, we would be removed and replaced with people who wouldn't argue with him, people who might even condone his... educational practices. Besides that, it was physically impossible to stop him while he was administering punishment." The was a tone in his voice that hinted at his disgust with his former employer. Joey swallowed hard, his anger fading in the light of Gozaburo's cruelty.

"Kaiba-sama would lock them into that room alone, with the door locked and deadbolted such that nobody could enter from the outside. He had the room soundproofed. He had a collared length of chain attached to the desk, which ensured that Seto couldn't lock him out when he left him in there alone. Nobody was ever allowed in there but the two of them. We did what we could for Seto-sama. We did more than he'll ever know, more than any one person knows, actually. But he knows who was on his side, and those are the only servants he retained after his step-father's death."

Joey was disturbed by all of this, and was looking just as upset now as he had been when the ambulance drove away. Even more so, actually. Everything Seto had told him before now seemed sugar-coated in comparison to the raw truth.

"He was not alone, Joseph. He was never truly alone here. But if Kaiba-sama left venomous creatures in that room, and if they remained there after he died, Seto-sama would be the one to know about it."

Joey nodded a little and dropped his gaze, trying to process everything he'd just heard.

"Is that satisfactory for now, or do you need anything else?"

"One last thing: can you get me a copy of Seto's medical records?"

* * *

Joey sat cross-legged in Seto's desk chair, nervously fingering the thick folder containing his lover's medical records. Were all medical records this thick? Should he be worried by that? Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe he should have asked Seto about this first. Maybe...

No. He would ask Seto first. He trusted Seto, whether he was forthcoming with painful details or not. After all, if Seto ever got it into his mind to ask Joey about the first time his dad hit him, he wouldn't really want to talk about it either, would he? Or the first time he'd come home from school to find his dad shooting up on meth...

He wouldn't look at the file until he talked to Seto. It didn't matter that he wanted Joey to stay away, he was going to visit him in the hospital anyways. This was one thing Joey was willing to be completely stubborn about. He left the file behind and went to visit Mokuba. He stood outside his bedroom door and took a deep breath, plastering on the fake smile he'd worn so often back when he still lived with his dad.

"Hey, Mokuba," Joey said softly as he stepped inside, the sleepy, sick child lifting his head to smile at Joey. "How are you doing?" He approached the bed, sitting down on the edge of it near Mokuba, facing him just as Seto had done.

"I'm okay." He yawned, opening his mouth wide like a cat. "What's up?"

"Something urgent came up at work and your brother had to go back to the office," Joey lied glibly. "He probably won't come home until late tonight, so he wanted me to tell you that he won't be able to visit you again until tomorrow."

Mokuba's face fell, and he looked both disappointed and angry. The disappointment made sense, but he didn't understand the anger at first.

"He promised he wasn't going to do this anymore," he whimpered, his eyes starting to tear up. "He promised!"

Joey felt guilty for lying to Mokuba, but at the same time, he knew that this was better than telling Mokuba that his brother had been bitten by a deadly spider that shouldn't even be in this country, let alone this house. If he knew that Seto might die, he'd be inconsolable, which would only make his illness more miserable. It might even make him sicker.

"I don't want him leaving anymore!" Mokuba tried to shout, but he was too weak to actually raise his voice as much as he wished to. "Why can't he just stay _home_ …"

"Hey, pal, don't cry." Joey handed Mokuba some tissues, but quickly realized that it wouldn't be enough. He pulled Mokuba into his arms and hugged him tightly, trying to reassure him.

"He doesn't like leaving you anymore than you like it," he assured. "He would do anything to be able to stay home and just take care of you, but right now he just… he can't do that…" Joey started tearing up now too as he thought about the danger Seto was in. He may have told Mokuba not to cry, but now he couldn't help but do so himself.

At Mokuba's behest, Joey stayed with him the rest of the day. He was vaccinated, after all, so he was safe. His cell rang every couple hours with an update from the nurse at the hospital-apparently, Seto had arranged for Seto to be frequently updated about his condition, a thoughtful gesture that Joey appreciated immensely. Once they'd hooked him up to all of their machines and started an antivenin drip, they sedated him so that he wouldn't be in any pain. He was supposed to wake up that evening, and Joey planned on being there when he did.

At around eight, Joey told Mokuba that he was going to KC HQ to make sure that Seto had at least fed himself. He stuffed Kaiba's medical records into a tote bag, pulled on a winter coat, and departed for the hospital, praying the whole time that Seto would make it through the night.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The Emerald Emperor spider is a fictional spider species that I made up because I couldn't find a real spider species that I found satisfactory for the purpose of this story. They are not real.


	5. Morphine

Joey was trying not to fall asleep as the rhythmic beeping of the hospital machines lulled him into a trance. He blinked hard and shook his head, trying to snap out of it, but he was having a difficult time. Everything seemed to be difficult today. It was difficult letting Seto go to the hospital without him. It was difficult lying to Mokuba about where his brother had gone. It was difficult trying to decide whether or not to look at Seto's medical records without his permission.

Joey looked down at the thick folder that he was hugging to his chest, even now wondering if he ought to at least take a peek. Then he lifted his head and looked back at Seto's peaceful expression. It was so rare that he ever looked truly peaceful. There was always something for him to worry about, something to concern or irritate him. Even when he was happy, he was rarely peaceful, but sometimes that was a good thing.

Any minute now, he'd be waking up, Joey assured himself. That was what the nurse had said, and Joey still believed her. When he got to the hospital, he'd found that they'd decided to keep him sedated for a bit longer, so Joey had called Yugi and talked to him for about an hour. Unable to withhold the truth from his long-time best friend, he'd told Yugi what had happened. Yugi had offered to come sit with him at the hospital for as long as Joey needed him, but Joey had declined, saying that Seto would be upset enough with Joey for being there and he didn't want to upset him further by bringing his biggest rival to see him at his weakest.

So they'd talked about anything from the weather to the newest Duel Monsters card release until a nurse came in and switched Seto from the anesthetic to a morphine drip. She'd told Joey that the morphine was off for now, just until he woke up, but that Seto would probably want some as soon as he did awaken. At that point, Joey had said goodbye to Yugi, now here he was, waiting Seto to show signs of life.

Seto's eyelids twitched, and Joey finally showed some signs of life himself. He leaned forward in his chair, taking Seto's hand in his own and resting his elbows on the edge of the bed as he clasped it tightly. The heavy file lay in Joey's lap, forgotten for the moment. Those beloved blue eyes opened at last, and Joey sighed with relief. He'd been afraid that he would never see those dazzling sapphire orbs ever again.

"You shouldn't be here," Seto rasped, looking slightly irked. He mostly looked tired, though.

"I wasn't going to leave you here alone. I put Mokuba to bed before I left. I don't like lying to him, though," Joey confessed.

"It was for his own good." With that one sentence, Seto dismissed all of Joey's concerns about the falsehoods he'd fed to Seto's sick little brother.

"And you always know what's best?" Joey asked bitterly. This wasn't how he'd wanted to greet Seto when he woke up, but here it was, happening, and he couldn't imagine that Seto was any happier with it than he was.

"Yes."

Joey sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, letting his forehead rest against their joined hands. "I'm just glad that you're alive," he said at last, opening his eyes once more. "How do you feel?"

"Fine."

"You don't honestly expect me to believe that, do you?" Joey looked down at Seto with pity, even though he knew Seto tended to loath receiving the pity of others. "You're in pain. I can tell." He kissed the other's knuckles, letting his teeth graze the skin so that Seto could feel it and not just see it.

"I feel fine," Seto repeated, trying to sound convincing.

"That's a load of crap." Joey reached for the morphine button, but Seto followed his eyes and realized what he was doing.

"No!"

Joey froze, startled by the severity of Seto's reaction, startled enough that he obeyed and dropped his hand. "Okay, calm down." Joey kissed Seto's hand again.

"How's Mokuba?"

"He's doing fine," the blond answered gently. How ironic that Seto was so worried about his brother when he was the one in far greater danger. "He's taking his medicine and everything. He's still sick, but he should start getting better tomorrow."

"Good," Seto sighed, looking relieved.

"He was really upset when I had to tell him that you went back to the office." Joey frowned at Seto, but Seto just closed his eyes, dismissing Joey yet again.

"Trust me, Joey, it's better this way."

"I do trust you, I just feel awful seeing him like that." Joey looked regretful. "He hates it when you leave."

"Remind me to have Sweets talk to Mokuba some time," Seto muttered through gritted teeth, his hand gripping Joey's tightly. He sustained the grip, and Joey let him. "I think… he might have developed separation anxiety this fall. Ever since the trial, he's been afraid of losing me again."

"I will," he murmured, trying to pound that thought into his memory so firmly that it would be impossible for him to forget. Seto's eyes opened again, and this time he noticed the file in Joey's lap. His grip on Joey's hand started to ease as he asked, "What's that?"

"Your medical records."

Joey's eyes hardened as the color drained from Seto's face. At least, it drained as much as it could given the fact that his face was flushed with fever. Joey had known to expect that, from what he knew of the side effects of this spider's venom. In most cases, medical attention wasn't acquired quickly enough to save the victim, but that was because most Emerald Emperor spider-bites happened in the middle of nowhere in Australia. Seto was so lucky to be alive. The odds had been so hard against him that it scared Joey to think of it even now.

"If I open these, Seto, what am I going to find?"

Seto's expression twisted into something Joey had never seen before. It took him several moments to identify it as a blend of fear and conflict.

"I don't know," he finally answered quietly. "I don't know how Gozaburo chose to cover it up."

Joey felt his chest constrict, but he tried to breathe deeply anyways before he asked, "Then can you please just tell me what happened?"

"Not now, Joey," Seto whispered, a pleading look in his eyes. It was so rare that Seto pleaded for anything outside of the bedroom, and Joey couldn't bring himself to push him. Maybe he'd gone soft in the past few months. After all, hadn't Seto been pushed to his limits too many times already in his life? It always seemed to make him stronger, true, but as strong as Seto seemed, Joey was afraid that some day he'd find some deep part of him that was fragile, and on that day he would only find it by hurting him.

"Okay," he whispered at last, lifting his cocoa-colored eyes to Seto's face, looking a little more relaxed. "But you still owe me an explanation."

"Fair enough." Seto glanced down at his medical records. "Can you please put those away?"

Joey complied, and took Seto's hand in his own once more. Solemn silence reigned for a few minutes, interrupted only by the machine's steady beeping.

"You can't move, can you?" Joey whispered the terrible words at last, and Seto's eyes opened.

"It's only temporary," the brunette muttered, but Joey could tell that he wasn't entirely certain.

"How can you be sure?" Joey pressed, wanting them to be realistic about what was going to happen now. "That spider's venom is a powerful neurotoxin. It attacks your nerves directly. Most people don't survive it. I'm surprised they even had the right antivenom at this hospital."

"They might not have," Seto said with an air of indifference, sounding like he would have shrugged if he could have, but his temporary paralysis prevented him. "I'm sure they have an agonist that works just as well."

"Agonist?"

"Something that behaves and functions like something else, producing the same effect, even though it's not the same thing," Seto explained.

"Oh." Joey wasn't sure he completely understood that, but he think he got it. "So, they had some kind of medicine that could still do the job of the antivenom, even though they didn't have an antivenom created specifically for this venom?"

"Basically, yeah," Seto affirmed tiredly. His eyes darted out of the room, as if trying to find something. "I'm getting out of here," he muttered suddenly, letting go of Joey and forcing his hands to the surface of the bed. He grunted in pain as he started pushing himself up, and Joey looked at him in shock.

"You need to rest."

"I'm fine," Seto snapped, trying to climb out of bed, but he couldn't get his legs to obey him. His face contorted with frustration and pain, and Joey couldn't bear to watch this any longer. He calmly picked up the morphine button.

_Click._

Seto hissed through his teeth, trying to reject by force of will the temptation of painlessness the morphine offered him. Unfortunately, IV meds just didn't work that way.

"Damn it, Joey," he growled.

_Click._

"You need to calm down, Seto, or you're really going to hurt yourself," Joey said softly, resting a hand on Kaiba's shoulder as he forced him to lie back down. Seto kept trying to resist, though, and Joey was amazed all over again by Seto's stubbornness.

_Click._

Finally, Seto sighed slowly, relaxing into the pillow as Joey leaned over him and pushed the dark bangs off of his forehead.

"Sleep, Seto. It's okay." Joey kissed Seto's forehead. "You're safe. I won't leave you." Seto's eyelids grew heavy, but he still fought the drowsiness.

"No windows," the brunette muttered, looking upset.

"What?" Joey looked around the room, noticing that there were no windows. That made sense, since this room in the ICU was in the middle of the building and not near an outer wall. "Why does that matter?" Then it hit him, and his eyes softened. "You're claustrophobic, aren't you?"

Seto's eyes finally closed as he nodded slightly. "No more," he pleaded softly.

"Okay, I won't give you anymore," Joey promised softly, still combing his fingers through Seto's hair as he straightened out the sweaty strands.

"Don't leave…"

"I won't, Seto. I won't leave. I'm here for you." Joey kissed Seto's forehead as the CEO finally allowed himself the luxury of sleep.

* * *


	6. Serum

"You owe me a few explanations, Seto," Joey said gravely. "What happened?"

"It's all one story, really," the brunette sighed, looking defeated.

"What do you mean?"

_Click._

"It was a few months after we were adopted," Seto murmured, squeezing Joey's hand as he stared at the ceiling, blinking through the blur of narcotics. He hadn't wanted to recount this when he was raw and clear-minded. Since he had the drugs, since he was still in pain, he would do this instead. It was easier this way. Joey was just as red-eyed as he was but that was because it was barely six in the morning.

"I didn't think I could take it anymore. I fought back for the first time. I bit him." Seto took a deep breath, his unfocused gaze directed at the florescent lights. "He was really mad at that, and I got scared. He gave me a shot"—Seto omitted the part where Gozaburo had cornered his step-son at the end of his chain and pinned him, kicking and screaming, to the floor so that he could accomplish the task—"and locked me in the closet until morning." He closed his eyes and watched the colorful stars dance behind his eyelids as he took another breath. "I tried to escape, but I couldn't." He could still remember being trapped in the bottom of that dark closet, the collar and chain keeping him pinned to the floor. The walls closing in, the darkness suffocating him—

_Click._

Seto sighed a little as Joey took the button out of his hand. He was okay with that, though. He had everything he needed for now. Besides, that was what Joey did for him: kept him honest and held him accountable. Joey was the only one who was really allowed to challenge Seto about anything, the only one allowed to tell him no.

"I had a fever by the time he freed me. I was surprised that he just sent me to bed, then, but it didn't take me long to realize why. The fever got worse. I started shaking and feeling numb. It was awful. I was alone that day, though, and the next night. I tried to get out, but he'd locked me into my room. The next day was when the paralysis started, and he finally came back. He said that if I ever tried to fight him again, he'd do something worse. That was when he… gave me another shot, and that night I finally got to eat again…"

"That's terrible." Joey's eyes were wide with horror, and he kissed Seto's hand as he had last night. He didn't see Seto as his lover at the moment. Right now, he looked at Seto and saw a scared, abused child that needed to be comforted and healed. Seto was more physically damaged than he'd realized, and he just wanted to hold him in his arms until he was whole again.

"I got better, but things were never the same. I realized that I would have to survive it all. I didn't have a choice."

" _That_ was when you started having tactile issues, wasn't it?"

"Yeah."

"And that's why you're claustrophobic, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

A pause.

"Is that also why you don't get vaccines? Because you're as afraid of needles as Mokuba is?"

"...Maybe."

"Ah, Seto…" Joey didn't the words he needed to express himself to Seto, he just leaned forward and pressed little kisses over the brunette's face. "Is there anything I could do to make this better?"

"Stay," was the simple answer he received, so he did. He stayed at Seto's bedside and fall asleep again, Seto doing the same.

* * *

Peripheral nerve damage. That had been the lasting effect of the injection Gozaburo gave him, and it would have been present this time too if they hadn't caught it in the MRI neurographs. Which led to a CT scan and a couple other tests that Seto tolerated with gritted teeth. Fortunately for both of them, there were treatment options available that could help him recover from both rounds of nerve damage. While Seto simply glared at the doctor stoically as she mentioned acupuncture, medication, and physical therapy, Joey knew that he must be grateful that there was a solution to all of this.

That afternoon, Joey took Seto home. He was still weak, but it was nothing that a little rest wouldn't cure. He went to Mokuba's room first, Joey holding his hand and standing close out of concern, but on their way there, Roland stopped them.

"Mr. Kaiba, it is good to see you well again." He bowed slightly and Seto nodded in acknowledgement. "We have an update about the, uh, infestation."

"It was confined to one room, I take it?"

"Yes sir, it's been contained and is being fumigated at the moment. Complete removal of all the spiders. There were also some other… dangerous substances found therein."

"I see. Do whatever's necessary to remove all dangers as effectively and quickly as possible. I don't need to see any reports on what was in there, but it should be thoroughly documented."

"Yes sir." He bowed again and left, and Seto pulled Joey forward as they continued towards Mokuba's room.

Joey didn't fully understand the undercurrents of their conversation, but he could tell that there was some kind of understanding between the two of them. Knowing what he knew, he imagined that Roland was, professionally, the person Kaiba trusted the most. Roland would never dream of betraying him, after all.

Joey came to a halt when Seto stopped him at the door to Mokuba's bedroom. They slipped inside together and were immediately greeted by a joyous cry.

"Seto!" Mokuba's face lit up when he saw his brother, and Kaiba dropped Joey's hand to quickly reach his little brother's side.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked softly as he sat on the edge of the bed, pushing back Mokuba's bangs and pressing his palm to the child's forehead.

"A little better. I wanted to go play video games, but they wouldn't let me." Mokuba pouted a little, which made Seto smile in amusement.

"Probably a good idea, since you still feel a bit hot," he replied, turning his hand over to press the back of it to Mokuba's forehead for a moment, before dropping his hand completely.

"Is everything at work fixed?" the child asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm done with work for the weekend," Seto assured. He was in the process of pulling the comforter up around his brother's shoulders, tucking it in a little, when he felt a hand on his shoulder and he glanced up to see Joey standing behind him.

"Can you stay with me?" Mokuba asked, drawing both of their attention back to himself. "Watching movies all the time gets kinda boring."

"Sure," Joey answered cheerfully. He and Seto lay down on either side of Mokuba, cuddling with him under the covers in a way that seemed to make him quite happy indeed. The Kaiba brothers were soon asleep, both tired from their respective illnesses. Joey stayed with them, of course. He made a note in his phone to talk to Sweets about what had happened and what he'd learned. Surely the psychologist would be interested in this recent development. Joey was much more tolerant of him than Seto was, but Joey knew deep down that Seto trusted the American psychologist to a degree. He wouldn't speak with him at all otherwise.

Joey glanced over at the sleeping brothers with a smile before settling down to take a nap himself.

* * *


	7. Aphrodisiac

Seto and Joey stood together in their bedroom, the lights dimmed and quiet music playing as they stood close together, Joey's arms looped around Seto's neck and Seto's arms around Joey's waist as he held their bodies together.

Joey, at the start of December, had asked Seto what he wanted for Christmas, and Seto had told him nothing. The stubborn blond had refused to take that as an answer, even though it did seem like Seto had everything he could ever want or need. All month, he'd pestered Seto and Mokuba both, trying to come up with an adequate present for the brunette. Finally, he'd given up on trying to conceive of a physical gift. Instead, that Christmas Eve, after putting Mokuba to bed, he'd given Seto one wish, and it could be anything at all. Seto had asked for a slow-dance.

"How did the acupuncture go this morning?" Joey asked softly. He hadn't wanted to ask in front of Mokuba, even though Seto'd told his brother the truth about what had happened that weekend.

"Oh, it was just _fun_ ," Seto snarked, rolling his eyes. "Getting dozens of pins stuck in you is just _wonderful_."

Joey chuckled at him, kissing him for a moment before commenting, "Don't be such a grumpy goose."

"I'm not a goose!"

"You are when you're grumpy."

"What does that even mean?"

"Bop." Joey bumped his nose against Seto's, then laughed again, making Seto relax a little and lean in a bit to rub his nose against Joey's cheek.

"You make no sense."

"You make too much sense."

"How is that a bad thing?"

"Nonsense is fun, Seto." Joey winked at him, as if that statement had special meaning. "You need to learn how to have fun." An idea had popped into his mind, and it made him excited. "I can teach you, if you like."

"Why do I feel like all of your ideas about 'fun' would either get us in trouble with the law or involve the destruction of property?"

"You're too skeptical. You know that?"

"I'm realistic."

"You need to loosen up. You've gotten better, but you're not there yet."

"Not _where?_ "

" _There_."

"There _where?_ "

" _There_ there."

"Why won't you tell me what you mean?"

"Because that'd be too easy, and I know you enjoy a challenge." Joey winked at Seto again, this time eliciting a smug grin from his lover.

"True." He nibbled on Joey's ear, making the blond gasp. "You were a bit of a challenge yourself, you know."

"Like you _weren't?_ " Joey scoffed, his voice a little breathless as Seto kissed and nipped at Joey's jawline. The shorter one sighed, closed his eyes, and dropped his head back to allow the other better access to his skin.

"I guess I am, aren't I?" he whispered, his breath tickling Joey's neck as a slight sadness crept into his voice. Joey opened his eyes and brought his hands up to cup Seto's face.

"You'll always be a challenge Seto, but a beautiful one. Like a million-piece puzzle." He grinned that easy, boyish grin that Seto loved. "You just get more beautiful over time."

"Thank you." They kissed eagerly, and Joey's idea about teaching Seto how to have fun dropped to the back of his mind. _This_ was fun enough. Joey's hips hitched into Seto's, making the brunette groan and started to tug at Joey's belt buckle.

"Easy, tiger," Joey purred, taking hold of Seto's hands to stop him.

"Not a tiger," was Seto's immediate, automatic response, his blue eyes burning.

"Right." Joey smirked and wrapped his fingers around both of Seto's wrists with a single hand and tugged him in the direction of the bed. After a moment, he realized something: Seto didn't resist him at all. He followed, submitting to Joey because he trusted him so whole-heartedly. He was entirely vulnerable, and it was then that Joey realized he had the power to utterly destroy Seto, heart, body, mind, and soul. He could break everything whole within him and bring him to tears and pain.

He was so glad that he didn't want to do that. Seto's good opinion, once lost, was lost forever. Joey chuckled to himself as he pushed Seto down onto the edge of the bed.

"I know you didn't want to do the other thing," Joey whispered, blushing. "But what are your feelings about dressing up as Mr. Darcy?"

Seto cracked a grin and began to laugh. "You're a strange bird, Joseph Wheeler." He kissed the blond then, so that Joey knew he wasn't making fun of him.

"Is that a yes?" Joey asked hopefully.

"I'll think about it. I warn you, though, I look darn good in a top-hat."

Now it was Joey's turn to laugh. "If I'm a strange bird, then am I a goose like you?"

"I'm not a goose and not a tiger. You know what I am." His eyes glinted dangerously in the half-light, his smile feral in a way that took Joey's breath away. "What am I, Joey?"

"A dragon," Joey breathed, his hands resting on Seto's shoulders as he leaned into him.

"Damn straight."

* * *

"What is it?" Mokuba asked as he stared at the huge box in front of him, his eyes wide and curious.

"Open it and find out."

Joey looked over at Seto, who looked quite pleased with himself as he watched his little brother lift the lid off the box. Mokuba squealed—actually _squealed_ —and threw off the lid as a pair of lively, medium-sized dogs sprang out of it and attacked Mokuba with wagging tails and eager tongues. Mokuba put his arms around the dogs even after they'd knocked him to the floor.

"Remember what we talked about, Mokuba," Seto said before he sipped his coffee. "You're responsible for them: making sure they get walked and fed and everything."

"Thank you, Seto!" Mokuba cried, hopping up off the floor and dashing over to glomp his brother. Seto made sure to put his coffee down before that happened, though. "Thank you thank you thank you!" The child sounded as hyper as the golden retriever mix that was sniffing at Joey's leg.

"Hey there, girl," Joey said sweetly, scratching behind the dog's ears. She snorted and leaned back a moment before jumping onto the couch and stepping into Joey's lap. He laughed and continued to pet her as she settled herself on Joey's lap, still looking alert and excited.

Seto was holding Mokuba with one arm while petting the other dog, a stately German shorthaired pointer that had come to sit beside Kaiba as if he already recognized the brunette as his master. For all Joey knew, maybe he did.

"Wait, there's more," Joey said, blushing a little as Seto looked up at him sharply.

"I only got two," he said, looking suspicious even as Mokuba looked back at the box and gasped in delight. A large, red-hued mutt lifted its head out of the box with a tiny tabby perched on top of its head. Mokuba dashed away again, gently removing the kitten from the dog's head and cradling it against his chest. Mokuba stared down at the little feline with his big grey eyes, suddenly very calm. The kitten made a pathetic mewling noise, and Mokuba immediately began to soothe the kitten, slowly sitting cross-legged on the floor as he started murmuring baby nonsense to the striped grey tabby. The big red dog clambered out of the box and stood next to the child, sniffing at his head.

"You got him a big red dog and a kitten?" Seto said in astonishment.

Joey scratched his head sheepishly, and said, "Well... yeah. I didn't know you'd already gotten him some, though." The golden mix got off of Joey's lap and went over to join the red dog in sniffing Mokuba, then started licking his cheek.

"Next time, we'll have to coordinate on gifts. But no more animals until these ones d—" Joey pecked Seto's lips to keep him from talking about Mokuba's new pets dying.

"It was very sweet of you." Joey's compliment made Seto blush. The German pointer remained at Seto's side, and Joey thought that Seto wasn't even aware that he was still petting it. "You like that one, don't you?" he teased, making Seto blush even more.

"What are their names?" Mokuba asked, saving Seto from further embarrassment.

"Whatever you want them to be," Kaiba answered, both older teens looking at the child together as he sat with his new pets, looking like he couldn't be happier. "I was going to make you solely responsible for them, but I figure it's pretty impossible for you to walk the three dogs by yourself…" Seto turned his eyes towards Joey.

"Whattya lookin' at me for?" he asked, even though he could tell where this was going.

" _You're_ the one who got him the giant, so you might as well be the one to help him take care of them," Seto pointed out. "What even is that?"

"It's a mutt," Joey declared proudly as the sleek black pointer finally trotted over to Mokuba and lay down in front of him, setting his muzzle on top of his paws as he watched the kitten clawing its way up Mokuba's shirt until it was perched on his shoulder, starting to chew on a bit of the child's hair.

"Why didn't you get him a nice little puppy or something?'

"Why didn't _you?_ "

"Because he wanted a _dog_ , not a puppy." Seto smirked. "Besides, we already have a puppy."

"You do?" Joey immediately regretted his words the moment he'd said them, realizing what Seto had meant. His face turned red, and Seto, realizing how much he'd embarrassed Joey, held out an arm to him as he shifted to lean against the arm of the couch. Joey crawled over and lay down on him, Seto's arm coming around his shoulders and pulling him close so that he could kiss the blond's forehead.

"You're nevah gonna let me live that down, are ya?" he asked quietly, pressing his cheek to Seto's chest.

"If it makes you feel any better," Seto murmured, toying with Joey's hair lazily. "I like dogs."

* * *

Joey chuckled to himself as he left Mokuba's room, where the child had coaxed all three dogs onto the bed with him and his kitten, whom he'd named Storm, was curled up in a cat-bed next to Mokuba's pillow. The younger Kaiba was so gentle and careful with the small cat that Joey found it friggin' adorable to watch them together. He'd even gotten Seto to admit that it was cute to see the way the child took care of his smallest pet.

He was curious about what Seto had gotten _him_ for Christmas. Seto'd told him to meet him in their room in ten minutes, but he couldn't fathom why. When he reached the door, he didn't hesitate, just walked right in amongst a puff of warm air and—

Joey's jaw dropped. There was Seto, standing before him in full, regal glory. Gold armbands encircled his bulging biceps while wide gold bangles encased his forearms. Gold ear-cuffs glinted at his cartilage, and his eyes were lined with khol. A gold choker necklace fit his throat like a glove, and he even wore gold anklets. The only clothing he wore was a dark blue shenti—Joey very much approved of the color—and they both knew it wouldn't be there for long.

Seto chuckled, the sound low and throaty and condescending. It used to irritate Joey, but now it just turned him on. "Close your mouth or you'll catch flies."

Joey promptly snapped his jaw shut and closed the door behind him, locking it like always. He could feel his face turning red, but that just seemed to make Seto smirk even more.

"Come here," he ordered with a noble tilt of his head, and Joey obeyed mindlessly, his brain already reduced to a puddle of wantonness.

"You planned on doing this all along, didn't you? That's why you told me last week to stop asking for it," Joey murmured, reaching a hand up to run his fingers through the soft hair, an exotic scent tickling his nose. After a few moments, he recognized it as sandalwood. Seto really had gone the extra mile, and the more details Joey noticed, the more he melted.

"Pretty much," Seto purred, taking Joey's chin in his fingers before leaning forward to bite teasingly at his bottom lip.

"Is all of that real?" Joey panted as his fingers skimmed over the gold armbands, his fingertips feeling the detailed engravings that it was too dim in here for him to see right now.

"I would think that you'd know me well enough by now to know that I wouldn't pay for fake gold." Seto reached for the hem of Joey's sweater and smoothly pulled it over his head. The blond was glad to be rid of it, since it was warmer in here than in any other room of the house. Normally it wasn't, but right now…

Seto tugged Joey's shirt off as well, then tugged him closer, biting at his neck so that Joey whined high and soft with desire. The blond shifted his weight restlessly, his pants feeling constricting and tight, but Seto stopped his hands when they went down. His breath was hot on Joey's ear as he whispered.

"Call me slave and we're never doing this again. Got it?"

Joey heard the tremor of hesitation in his voice and hummed to himself, reveling in the pleasure induced by a hesitant Seto Kaiba.

"I wasn't going to call you slave, don't worry," he assured, bringing Seto's hand to his lips, studying his ornamental rings for a moment. "I actually think you look quite like… a pharaoh."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to let you know, I plan on eventually rewriting this story at some point in the future, because I'm not really happy with how it turned out. When I've done that, I'll be updating these chapters and making a note that they've been rewritten at the beginning of each one.


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